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Plans to engage local governments in Europe’s Energy Union
The European Committee of the Regions' President - Markku Markkula - has welcomed the EU Commissioner Šefčovič's declaration that regions and cities were "indispensable” in Europe’s energy transition. The CoR had invited the European Commission's Vice-President to take part in a debate on the Energy Union yesterday where he also remarked, "The energy transition is all about the decentralisation of production…There is no other way to bring about the energy transition other than working with local authorities".
The Energy Union is the focus of a draft opinion being drawn up by the CoR which calls for a stronger focus on consumers' empowerment and small-scale local renewables projects to cut energy bills and create an Energy Union. Pascal Mangin (EPP/FR) of Alsace Regional Council - who is leading the CoRs’ opinion - will present it for adoption during the CoRs' October plenary later this year.
Several CoR members took part in yesterday's debate throwing support behind the objectives of the Energy Union. But they also asked Commissioner Šefčovič to ensure and set out ways to involve regions and cities in creating the EU's Energy Union. Only by taking into account the territorial dimension of the Energy Union was it possible to reduce energy import dependency, strengthen internal services and tackle energy poverty. CoR PresidentMarkku Markkula stated that, "We all want energy security and efficiency. We are all committed to cutting reducing our energy import dependency, boosting innovation and creating a low-carbon Europe. The European Commission acknowledges that creating the Energy Union needs regions and cities but the question is how".
The recently unveiled €315bn EU Investment Plan could significantly help this process and the CoR expressed its readiness to work closely with the Commission and continuously review the Energy package's impact on public services and communities, whilst looking into new opportunities for sustainable jobs and new business opportunities in particular for SMEs.
The CoR President also pointed to EU plans to create an energy profile of each member state to determine and support national as well as regional and local needs. Such an oversight would allow EU energy policy to be assessed and reviewed but which must take into account the territorial dimension, "This would not only allow a better programming of EU policies but also help cities and regions to better plan their own public policies and investments in energy projects."
President Markkula finally called for stepping up efforts to improve communication on the Energy Union locally: "The EU needs to reach out to communities, businesses and the energy sector to demonstrate and show-case what we hope for and what has been achieved. Local and regional governments couldn't be better placed to step-up to this task. We can also take this opportunity to explain to our cities and regions what EU money is available through Structural and Investment Funds, Horizon 2020 and the Connecting Europe Facility".
Background Information
- CoR draft opinion on the Energy
Contact:
David French
Tel. +32 2 282 2535
David.French@cor.europa.eu
